Delhi-based market research agency C fore interviewed 639 parents with children in preschool, 70 principals and teachers in Mumbai who have rated and ranked 56 sufficiently well-known preschools in the proprietary and franchised categories on ten parameters of early childhood education excellence. Here are Mumbai’s best preschools 2017. 

India’s commercial and entertainment capital, Mumbai (pop.21 million) also boasts a thriving early childhood and K-12 private education sector. The metropolis, which is a New York-style melting pot that has welcomed and nurtured a diverse range of people for centuries, hosts several nationally top-ranked schools including vintage institutions such as the Cathedral and John Connon School and J.B. Petit Girls High and new age globally-benchmarked international schools such as the Dhirubhai Ambani International and Ecole Mondiale World School, which together offer an exhaustive choice of education options to the city’s upwardly mobile middle class. 

Expectedly, Mumbai’s rich entrepreneurial culture has trickled down to the early childhood education sector with the city offering a diverse range of preschool options — from Montessori pre-primaries promoted more than half a century ago to new millennium preschools offering contemporary early years pedagogies — to young parents. 

For this year’s survey of Mumbai’s premier preschools, Delhi-based market research agency C fore interviewed 639 parents with children in preschool, 70 principals and teachers in Mumbai who have rated and ranked 56 sufficiently well-known preschools in the proprietary and franchised categories on ten parameters — competence of teachers, infrastructure, safety and hygiene, individual attention to students, among others — of early childhood care and education excellence. 

Proprietary/owned preschools

Promoted way back in 1948 as the city’s first Montessori pre-primary, Besant Montessori (BM), Juhu, has dominated the league table of Mumbai’s most admired proprietary preschools since 2015 when the annual EW preschools survey was divided into proprietary and franchised categories. This year too, it is ranked #1 with top scores under the parameters of teacher competence, individual attention to students, innovative teaching, leadership, special needs education, value for money and teacher welfare and development.

“I am delighted that Besant Montessori has been ranked #1 for the third year in a row. BM was founded by Tehmina Wadia, who trained directly under Dr. Maria Montessori and is affiliated with the Theosophical Society of India started by Dr. Annie Besant. We have integrated the child-centric philosophy and pedagogy of Dr. Montessori with the humanitarian principles of the Theosophical Society. Therefore, I am not surprised that we are top-ranked on most of your survey parameters. We believe in running a fully open and transparent school with Montessori trained teachers encouraging every child to learn at her own pace and integrating special children into inclusive classrooms. Our complete adherence to the Montessori system where children come first and learn in a stress-free learning environment has contributed to our continued success,” says Dolly Wadia, who started as a teacher at the school in the 1950s and was appointed directress of BM in 1991 after the demise of Tehmina Wadia.

Except for the top two rankings which have been retained by BM, Juhu and Kangaroo Kids, Bandra, there’s dramatic reordering of seating arrangements at the Top 10 table of Mumbai’s proprietary pre-primaries. The vintage West Wind, Gamdevi (estb.1947) has zoomed to #2 position (from #7 in 2016) while Podar Jumbo Kids, Khar has slipped to #3, a rank it shares with Leapbridge International Preschool, Sion. Little Bo Peep, Khar (W) and Alpha Kids International, Andheri (W) are jointly ranked #4 with Saifee Nursery, Malabar Hill retaining its #5 rank. Kookaburra, Juhu Road and Spring Buds International, Juhu have both improved upon their 2016 rankings and are jointly ranked #6 this year. Children’s Nook, Gamdevi has also gained ground and is tied with Podar Jumbo Kids, Andheri (W) at #7.

The highlight of Mumbai’s proprietary league table is the gatecrashing of five new and/or hitherto low-ranked preschools into the Top 10 top table. The previously unranked Witty World, Goregaon (W) has debuted at #8, Millennium Starkids Play School & Daycare, Thane has jumped to #9 (from #15 in 2016), a rank it shares with Safari Kids, Pali Hill, Bandra West (11) and The Courtyard, Tardeo and Budding Blossoms, Malad (East) are jointly ranked #10, an improvement upon their 2016 rankings of #11 and #13 respectively. 

Promoted in 2014 by well-known motivational speaker and edupreneur Vinay Jain & Dr. Raina Jain, who have also promoted the Witty Group of Institutions comprising six schools with an aggregate enrolment of 14,980 students in Mumbai, Witty World is the group’s preschool venture. Spread over a 14,000 sq. ft campus featuring air-conditioned classrooms equipped with CCTVs, library, mini auditorium and an outdoor area with jungle gym and splash pool, Witty World is ranked among Mumbai’s Top 4 for infrastructure provision. “We thank EducationWorld and the public for conferring this very prestigious ranking upon us. Witty World offers the best infrastructure and facilities to boost children’s creativity and learning, while guaranteeing their safety. We use chalk free boards, offer astro-turf outdoors to safeguard against insect infestation and injuries, a well-equipped infirmary, a library with 1,500 titles and auditorium with child size podiums, and are the only preschool in Mumbai to install finger guards on all doors of the school. Our objective is to offer the best facilities and curriculum to enable children to develop to their fullest potential,” says Sheetal Kapoor, head of training and curriculum at Witty Group and principal of Witty World, Goregaon which has an enrolment of 400 children and 50 teachers.

Further down the 39-strong Mumbai proprietary preschools table too, there’s considerable churn. Yet the highlight of this year’s league table is the debut of eight previously unranked preschools indicating that there’s no shortage of eduprenuers ready and willing to meet the rising demand for professionally administered early childhood education in India’s commercial capital. Among the debutants are three branches of the Aptech Montana International Preschool — Chembur, Andheri and Goregaon — promoted by Aptech Ltd, one of the country’s leading IT education and training providers with 1,300 centres in India and 40 countries worldwide.

Franchised preschools

Unsurprisingly Mumbai, the country’s business and commerce epicentre, is the headquarters of India’s largest preschool chains — Kangaroo Kids, Podar Jumbo Kids, EuroKids, Kidzee and TreeHouse — with a network of franchisees nationwide. Therefore predictably, the league table of Mumbai’s most admired franchised preschools is dominated by franchisees of these well-reputed and pioneer ECCE chains.

Ranked Mumbai’s #1 franchised preschool for the second consecutive year is Kangaroo Kids (KK), Chembur followed by Podar Jumbo Kids (PJK), Andheri (E) which has retained its #2 position. However, further down the Top 10 table there’s an upheaval with PJK, Chembur rising to #3 position (6 in 2016), EuroKids, Lokhandwala slipping to #4 (2) and KK, Kandivali (E) to #5 (3). KK-Parel, ranked #6, KK-Ghatkopar (E) at #7, and Kidzee, Kandivali at #8 have all retained their 2016 ranks. EuroKids, Ghatkopar (E) has improved its last year’s rank of #11 to #9 in 2017-18. The Top 10 table is completed by PJK, Bhayander.

Reshma Kukreja, a commerce and business management alumna of Mumbai University and the Welingkar Institute of Management and promoter-director of Kangaroo Kids, Chembur (KKC), is “delighted” with KKC retaining its #1 rank in a “very competitive market” with highest ratings under the parameters of teacher competence, individual attention to students, value for money, safety and hygiene and leadership quality. “This is great news for us as we don’t publicise ourselves and rely solely on word-of-mouth publicity given to KKC by our satisfied parents. I attribute our consistent performance to the excellent curriculum and support provided by Kangaroo Kids Education which focuses on developing children holistically, and our hardworking teachers who regularly attend KK training workshops. I am also very pleased with our #1 rank for safety and hygiene as this is our top focus and critical for building parental trust,” says Kukreja who is also promoter-director of KK, Ghatkopar East (estb.2002) ranked #7.

Likewise, Hasti Samir Gada, promoter of PJK, Chembur (estb.2016), is “thrilled” that this preschool has quickly risen in public esteem to be ranked among the Top 3 franchised preschools of Mumbai. “As a year-old preschool, the #3 ranking is very special to us and reaffirmation that we are on the right track. We are very grateful to the meticulously prepared curriculum given to us by Podar Jumbo Kids and the leadership of Dr. Swati Popat, president of the PJK chain. Our well-trained teachers deliver PJK’s child-friendly and experiential curriculum in brightly coloured classrooms. Moreover, we pay special attention to planning events and activities with the involvement of parents. The excellent feedback we have received to our first preschool has prompted us to make plans to promote another PJK centre,” says Gada, a graduate of Mumbai University who ran a tutorial centre for over 15 years before promoting PJK, Chembur in 2016.

Also read: Mumbai’s best preschools 2019-20